Making a C3 with a clamshell C4 setup

I have been pondering with keeping my 82 vette and mod'ing it. I thought about adding a C4 front suspension to the car utilizing a front frame section from a C4.

By doing this I'm curious if the 82's front bumper with alot of work of course could be mounted like a C4 as well as using a C4 cooling capsule. Then grafting the C3 hood to the fenders and make it do what a C4 does.

Is this a possibility? Or to many complications?

I did that but everything hinges up, even the bumper.

But is what Im saying is could you mount the front section of the frame rails even to a C3 so the hood is hinged like a C4. Then integrate the hood and fenders of a C3 as a unit and make it a true clamshell?

I think the bumper supports of a C4 could be altered to support a 82 bumper. I would also think you could integrate the C4's front and rear lower wheel housing's but not sure.

Just a idea I have been throwing around in my head.






Basically so a C3's clip can do this.

You would probably have to make the front edge of the clamshell hood right behind the back edge of the headlight openings. It could be done but you would have panel gaps all over the front of the car. The C4 pulls this off with the belt line that is around the entire car. It would look better and be easier if you did what others have done with a flip frontend.

just drop an all aluminum 500+ inch BBC into that c4... :devil:

or stretch it 8.8 inches and call Ryan Falconer for a 600 inch SBC with 4 extra cylinders :suicide:

The c-4 suspension will adapt to your c-3 frame with a few mods.
(easier than grafting the whole front.)It would probably be just as easy to build your own tilt too,as it would to modify the c-4 unit to fit.
Will be a cool project though!I converted mine back in 03.It's by far the best mod yet.

I've given this clamshell idea quite a bit of thought. I saw this tilt frontend on another site and this kind of gap or slightly larger would be fine with me.



Now I figure I could buy a fiberglass front bumper so I could eliminate the recessed area in the front clip and bumper so it is flat. The mod the bumper or clip so there would be a 1/4 inch gap to allow the front clip to open without damaging anything.



Then glass the hood to fender gap area and remove the inner bracing from my C4 hood and re-design it to and bond it to the c3 front clip to all my c4 hinges to bolt to it.

Then mount the fiberglass front bumper simiarly to how the c4 bumper is mounted.

I found this 74 style front bumper that converts to look like a 80-82. If I were to glass the section between my headlights to make it flat. Then grind a little off the front bumper to allow a 1/4 inch gap like a c4 has for the clamshell to tilt open without hitting anything.

Then I would have to figure out how to mount the hood to the hinges and deal with the inner fender skirts. Perhaps some modified C4 wheel houses would work.

To mount c4 hinges to the c3 hood will be a issue in itself dues to c4 headlight housings being narrower then c3's. But I believe a c3 clamshell to be possible with a lot of work.

JeffP1167 said:

I found this 74 style front bumper that converts to look like a 80-82. If I were to glass the section between my headlights to make it flat. Then grind a little off the front bumper to allow a 1/4 inch gap like a c4 has for the clamshell to tilt open without hitting anything.

Then I would have to figure out how to mount the hood to the hinges and deal with the inner fender skirts. Perhaps some modified C4 wheel houses would work.

To mount c4 hinges to the c3 hood will be a issue in itself dues to c4 headlight housings being narrower then c3's. But I believe a c3 clamshell to be possible with a lot of work.

Click to expand...

I wonder how it could be done and retain a front chrome bumper..??

mrvette said:

JeffP1167 said:

I found this 74 style front bumper that converts to look like a 80-82. If I were to glass the section between my headlights to make it flat. Then grind a little off the front bumper to allow a 1/4 inch gap like a c4 has for the clamshell to tilt open without hitting anything.

Then I would have to figure out how to mount the hood to the hinges and deal with the inner fender skirts. Perhaps some modified C4 wheel houses would work.

To mount c4 hinges to the c3 hood will be a issue in itself dues to c4 headlight housings being narrower then c3's. But I believe a c3 clamshell to be possible with a lot of work.

Click to expand...

I wonder how it could be done and retain a front chrome bumper..??

Click to expand...

Since I'm going with a c4 front frame I am thinking just mount it like a c4 bumper on the front and sides. I wonder if much of the firewall bonding areas can be cut out as well and cosmetically those areas made better looking

Waaayy back then I cut out most everything on those areas to make it more appealing

Twin_Turbo said:

Waaayy back then I cut out most everything on those areas to make it more appealing

Click to expand...

What did you do about the fender skirts that surround the wheel wells. I am going to attempt replacing them with possibly modified style corvette ones.

The hood latch will be a issue as well.

wasn't going to use the inner fenders

Jeff.... thats my front end you posted. It is FULL TILT in process. I hand made the entire front end of the car. Hinges, mounts, rad support, and the entire firewall.

The full build pics are at :

http://s1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff412/FullTilt1977/

And I can say that this was not easy to do. Took me 3 years and ALOT of welding, glassing and sanding to get it right.

HEre is FULL TILT now:





Good Luck with your build!

Robert

Whats the story with the smoke/fire dept. ?

BB... .look at my thread. tells the short version of a very long story!

FULL TILT - 77 Custom C3

Robert

Okay, so I cut up my c4 hood today. Since I am going to be doing a c4 front frame graft I am wondering if this will make a clamshell c3 work like a c4. Thought I could mount the 82 bumper much like a c4 one. Then separate the inner c4 metal hinge plates and graft them to my 82 front clip.

Guess I would be a pioneer on this one.

Biggest problem I would probably have is reinforcement of the clip and gaps. I figure if I could keep everything in c4 location this would be possible. Air intake for the radiator might a problem orienting the cooling capsule to the 82's air dam.

i liked my tilt front 69 vert.... the only thing is the inner fenders are not very strong and they could break when they flex when you are working on the engine.

bobs77vet said:

i liked my tilt front 69 vert.... the only thing is the inner fenders are not very strong and they could break when they flex when you are working on the engine.

Click to expand...

I am planning on modifying the inside of the c3 front clip using the inner hood frame work from the 90 vette. This will strengthen up everything and and give the sides of the fenders a guide pin to hold the sides in place while the hood is down.

Will also give me strong hinge points and if I can swing it by cutting headlight openings a mounting point for rotating headlights so I can ditch my vacuum nightmares.

Just take a lot of work to pull this off is all.

wow sounds like a cool project. i will be eager to see the pictures on it. good luck bob